Russian opposition leader losing feeling in hands as concerns for his medical care in prison growAlexei Navalny has two herniated discs in his back and is losing feeling in his hands, his lawyers have said, as concerns mount about the opposition leader’s health in a Russian prison.Olga Mikhailova, a lawyer for the Kremlin critic, confirmed that he had been placed in a prison sick ward and had undergone an MRI after complaining of numbness and pain in his legs and back. She said a doctor had told Navalny about the herniated discs, calling them “difficult to treat”. Continue reading...
The Scottish travel restrictions are a postcode lottery, writes Robin M White, while Paul and Caroline Boyce are feeling a bit hemmed inMargaret Vandecasteele (Letters, 4 April) indicates one end of the arbitrariness spectrum of telling people in Scotland to stay within their local authority boundaries, by pointing out that she can travel from Wick to Fort William (say, 160 miles). Living towards the eastern boundary of Dundee city, I exit that boundary in less than a mile, and the western in about seven miles. If I did live over the eastern boundary, I would be in Angus, and could go, say, 35 miles to the Angus glens. If I lived over the western boundary, I would be in Perthshire, and could go nearly as far as Dunfermline (say, 50 miles) to the south, nearly as far the Cairngorms (say, 75 miles) to the north, and nearly as far as Glencoe (say, 110 miles) to the west.
Azam Mangori convicted of killing 32-year-old in his room in Exeter and dismembering her bodyA man who murdered and dismembered a woman who went missing on a night out has been jailed for life and told to serve a minimum of 20 years’ imprisonment.Azam Mangori, 24, killed Lorraine Cox, 32, in his room above an Exeter kebab shop in September last year. Continue reading...
Fighter jets’ latest incursion into island’s air defence zone is further show of force from BeijingChina has sent more fighter jets into Taiwan’s air defence zone in an increased show of force, as Taiwan’s foreign minister vowed the island would fight to the end if China attacks.Taipei’s defence ministry said it scrambled aircraft to broadcast warning messages to the latest incursion, which included 12 Chinese fighters. Continue reading...
by Rebecca Ratcliffe South-east Asia correspondent on (#5G9KQ)
Group says junta has carried out hundreds of extrajudicial killings, as well as torture and illegal detentionsA group representing Myanmar’s ousted elected government has said it has gathered 180,000 pieces of evidence showing human rights abuses by the military, including hundreds of extrajudicial executions, torture and illegal detentions.The Committee for Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), which was set up in the aftermath of the coup to represent MPs from Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, said its legal representative would meet UN investigators to discuss the abuses on Wednesday. Continue reading...
‘Left to her own devices, she’d be in a T-shirt and out in the dirt. But she’s been told to be good, stand still and not mess up her dress’This photo was easy because this is my niece, who’s getting ready for her first communion. Her normal state was to be very active, never stationary for more than a minute. Left to her own devices, she’d be wearing a T-shirt and probably out there in the dirt. What I see in this picture is that she’s been told to be good, stand still and not mess up her dress.It was 1987 and the family lived in Stoughton, Massachusetts. It’s a blue-collar area, not particularly fancy. There were always kids playing outside, which you didn’t see so much in more prosperous neighbourhoods. There was a lot of excitement. First communion is a very big deal. The rationale is that the girls are becoming brides of Christ, so their outfits are like a wedding dress, and the boys wear white suits, white shirts, white ties. They’re seven years old, considered old enough to have a notion of sin. My niece must have just turned 40 now. Continue reading...
by Richard Partington Economic correspondent on (#5G9JK)
Meetings of finance ministers follow change in US stance, with consensus growing on tackling tax avoidanceG20 finance ministers are exploring a global minimum tax on corporate profits, amid growing international consensus on tackling avoidance after the pandemic.The virtual meetings between the group of 20 major industrial nations come after the US made the case for an international base rate this week, in a move by the Biden administration to end US resistance to international tax reforms. Continue reading...
by Bethan McKernan in Istanbul and Oliver Holmes in J on (#5G92W)
Israel suspected of planting explosives on MV Saviz anchored in Red SeaThe Iranian foreign ministry has confirmed that an Iranian cargo ship believed to be covertly deployed for military use off the coast of Yemen has been attacked, in an incident that threatens to inflame a proxy war between Iran and Israel.Officials in Tehran said on Wednesday that the MV Saviz had been targeted in the Red Sea, a day after media reports said the ship had suffered damage after being hit by limpet mines. Images broadcast by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency showed parts of the ship on fire. Tasnim said an explosion had targeted the hull. Continue reading...
Justice minister Naomi Long points finger at UK ministers after four nights of street violence in Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland’s justice minister has said the government’s “dishonesty” over the consequences of hard Brexit has contributed to the anger felt by loyalists, as police counted the cost of 41 officers injured during violence on the streets over four nights.Naomi Long’s remarks came as tensions escalated in Northern Ireland, with the first minister and Democratic Unionist party leader, Arlene Foster, hitting out at the “arrogance of Sinn Féin” and telling the BBC the IRA army council still existed. Continue reading...
Leader of new Alba party criticised for refusing to say whether Russia was to blame for 2018 novichok attackAlex Salmond has been accused of being an apologist for Vladimir Putin’s Russian regime after he refused to say whether Moscow was to blame for the Salisbury poisonings in 2018.The former Scottish first minister was asked three times during a BBC Scotland interview whether Russia was behind the novichok poisoning attacks on Sergei and Yulia Skripal, and each time refused to give a yes or no answer. Continue reading...
Clues in The Golden Treasure of the Entente Cordiale could lead readers in the UK and France to a historic treasure presented by Britain to the French president in 1903
The tartness of rhubarb is the whole point, and there are some excellent, unexpected ways to use it, whether you fancy a sweet-and-sour soup or a lovely crumbleWhen I was growing up in the US, people sometimes spoke of rhubarb – they seemed mildly amused by the word – but no one I knew ever ate it. I don’t think I’d ever really seen any until I came to the UK, where – from my point of view, at least – people got a little too excited about the annual arrival of this pink dessert celery.Rhubarb is a vegetable masquerading as fruit, and as such requires a bit of sugar to make it palatable. But not too much: the tartness of rhubarb is the whole point. I was converted to it through its two most traditional incarnations: rhubarb fool and rhubarb crumble. Sometimes, the former is made with custard, but I prefer Felicity Cloake’s straight double cream version, with just a little added yoghurt, not least because it’s easier. Her perfect crumble is similarly unassailable. And custard is very much required. Continue reading...
Documentary will cover death of his mother and West’s failed presidential bid but it is not known if it will cover his pending divorce from Kim KardashianNetflix has bought a documentary series spanning two decades of Kanye West’s life, said to cover the death of his mother, Donda, in 2007 and his failed 2020 US presidential bid.The as-yet-untitled film will include previously unseen home videos of West and footage shot over a 21-year period by Clarence “Coodie” Simmons and Chike Ozah, who directed West’s music videos Jesus Walks (Version 3) and Through the Wire. Continue reading...
The Canadian organizer says the actual crises are capitalism, war and the climate emergency, which drive mass migrationThe rising number of migrant children and families seeking to cross the US border with Mexico is emerging as one of the most serious political challenges for Joe Biden’s new administration.That’s exactly what Donald Trump wants: he and other Republicans believe that Americans’ concerns about a supposed “border crisis” will help Republicans win back political power. Continue reading...
On 6 April 1896, the inaugural Games opened in the Greek capital. Over the next nine days, male athletes from 12 countries competed in sports ranging from running to rope-climbing. See how the Guardian reported eventsFrom a correspondent
by Justine Landis-Hanley (now) and Matilda Boseley (e on (#5G8NW)
Gladys Berejiklian says a NSW Covid immunisation centre will be capable of administering 30,000 doses a week; European Union denies blocking 3.1m AstraZeneca doses from reaching Australia. Follow the latest updates, live
Recovered train dashboard footage shows a truck was already on the train track more than a minute before a crash that caused Taiwan’s worst rail disaster in decades.The train's driver engaged the manual brakes to try to slow the train, which was travelling at 79mph (127km/h), officials concluded.At least 50 people were killed and about 200 injured last Friday when the eight-carriage train hit a construction vehicle that had rolled down an embankment, derailing the carriages as they entered a stretch of tunnel just outside the east coast city of Hualien
Christopher Nolan’s film baffled audiences – all they wanted in this most bewildering of years was to see a giant ape and a dinosaur going at it for 15 roundsIn any other year, Godzilla vs. Kong could be filed as just another bloated, unoriginal franchise flick. But this hasn’t been any other year. It’s a year that has seen trips to the movies stolen away by a global pandemic, as all blockbuster releases have either been postponed or shifted to a streaming-only release. This being the case, Godzilla vs. Kong has been welcomed as a thunderous return for the big-screen experience. And the numbers show it. The fourth film in Legendary’s MonsterVerse raked in more than £206m ($285m) at the worldwide box office during its opening days, the highest debut of any American film in the pandemic era. There is a strong chance that it could outperform MonsterVerse’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which was a financial disappointment in the pre-pandemic era in 2019, grossing $383m worldwide during one of Hollywood’s most lucrative years.The joy with which Godzilla has been hailed contrasts with the muted response to the highest-performing Hollywood film during the pandemic: Christopher Nolan’s Tenet. After a seemingly endless number of delays to its release, Tenet was hyped by both the industry and the press as the film that would “save cinema”. For good reason: it was a new big-screen outing for a director who pushes the technological limits of film-making, bedazzling audiences with advancements in visuals, sound and cinematography. Everything Nolan touches turns to gold, it seems. Continue reading...
When the great painter died, 200 macabre photographs of elephant carcasses were found in his studio. They were by Peter Beard – and they propelled the artist into the heart of darknessIf you look into the eyes of a portrait, especially a self-portrait, by Rembrandt, you seem to see a “soul”. Such religious ideas and readings have shaped the story of art from its very beginnings and continue to seduce us today. But Francis Bacon was the first artist to paint people as animals. His subjects are rendered without souls, as flesh and bone, as blood and brain – in short, as animated meat. This ruthless Darwinian vision of the struggle of life makes him one of the most unnerving of artists. And his radical eye for humankind’s natural history gives a certain resonance to his friendship with one of the most brilliant wildlife photographers of the 20th century.After the Irish-born British painter died in 1992, more than 200 photographs of dead elephants were found in his London studio. They were given to him by Peter Beard, who took many of them from an aeroplane flying low over the grasslands of Kenya. The two would converse avidly about Beard’s images of these great, grey giants slowly rotting into monuments of white bone and ivory in the African sun. They inspired some of Bacon’s most pungent thoughts about art and life. “I would say the photographs of elephants,” he said, “are naturally suggestive.” What he saw was “a trigger – a release”. Continue reading...
At least 150 people killed in Indonesia and Timor-Leste after tropical cyclone Seroja hit regionIn Tasitolu, a suburb in the west of the capital, Dili, Batista Elo balances his young daughter on his hip as he stands in flood waters that reach up his thighs.“I saved my family first and after that just got into the belongings, but there were some things that didn’t get saved,” recalls Batista of the wild Saturday night when his home was suddenly flooded. Continue reading...
Australia has accused the EU of ‘semantics’ after European Commission said just one shipment of 250,000 AstraZeneca doses has been formally blocked, but Coalition says AZ has not been able to secure an export licence from Europe
Four crew jump off stern as Dutch ship listed dangerously, while remaining eight airlifted off deckA Dutch cargo ship is adrift in the Norwegian Sea after all of its crew members were airlifted, with some having to jump into the rough waters to be rescued.The Eemslift Hendrika, which was carrying several smaller boats from Bremerhaven in Germany to Kolvereid in Norway, made a distress call Monday, reporting a heavy list after stormy weather displaced some of its cargo. Continue reading...
Footage posted by the Norwegian Coast Guard shows the rescue of 12 crew members of a stricken vessel in the North Sea. Crew onboard the Eemslift Hendrika made a distress call on Monday, reporting a heavy list after stormy weather displaced some of its cargo. Some of the crew had to jump into the water because the vessel was leaning so much. All of the 12 were brought to safety. The 111 metre (366 feet) Netherlands-registered ship, which was transporting smaller yachts, had lost power in its main engine and was now drifting towards land. Continue reading...
Lucy Maino faced intense online harassment over clip in incident that critics say highlights misogyny in PNGMiss Papua New Guinea has been stripped of her crown after sharing a video of herself twerking on TikTok, with critics saying the incident reveals a deep-seated culture of misogyny in the country.Lucy Maino, 25, who has also served as co-captain of Papua New Guinea’s women’s football team, faced intense online harassment after she shared a video of herself twerking on the video-sharing app TikTok. Continue reading...
by Presented by Laura Murphy-Oates and reported by Lo on (#5G897)
Since 2014, at least $90m of government funding for Indigenous communities has been given to 10 of Australia’s biggest companies under the Indigenous Advancement Strategy. This money is meant to tackle the enormous gap in employment and wealth between Indigenous people and the rest of the population.Indigenous affairs editor Lorena Allam explores whether these funds are going to the right place
Hopes rise of lifting Trump sanctions and bringing Iran and US to compliance in two monthsA broad roadmap designed to rescue the Iran nuclear deal undermined by Donald Trump has been agreed in talks in Vienna, with the aim of bringing Iran and the US back into compliance in as little as two months.Two working groups have been set up to examine the economic sanctions on Iran that the US will need to lift to come back into compliance with UN security council resolutions, and the steps Iran will need to take to bring its nuclear programme in line with the terms set out in the 2015 deal. Continue reading...
As heartbreak coincided with the pandemic, the Wye Oak songwriter’s cerebral coping mechanisms failed. Her stirring new album confronts her emotional blindspotsAs the promo cycle for Jenn Wasner’s second album as Flock of Dimes kicked in recently, she felt eager to get back to work. Then she was struck by a new feeling. “Oh, but I don’t want to do anything?” she recalls from her green sofa on a sunny day in Carrboro, North Carolina, sounding bemused. “I would like to read my book and lie in the sun. A thought like that was so novel to me.”Over the past decade, Wasner seemed to have an unusually healthy relationship to her work. In 2011, she and fellow Baltimorean Andy Stack experienced a breakthrough with their third album as indie-rock duo Wye Oak, the ruminative and stormy Civilian: rave reviews, syncs on The Walking Dead and One Tree Hill, 200 gigs in one year. Burned out by their moment in the sun, Wasner decided to abandon the pursuit of career growth to remain connected to her music and unencumbered by external expectations, following in the footsteps of her irreducible hero, Arthur Russell. Continue reading...
by Alexander Nanau and Antoaneta Opriș on (#5G7N5)
There’s still no justice for the 64 lives lost in a 2015 nightclub fire. Our Oscar-nominated film Collective tells their story“We were asked to make a list of values that bring success or failure in life. With success I trust friendship, solidarity, hard work, altruism, study. With failure I trust selfishness, deceit, submission.”Alex Hogea was 18 when he wrote this in one of his high-school tests. One year later, in October 2015, he was a victim of the fire in the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest. He died four weeks later in Vienna from several bacterial infections that he contracted while hospitalised in Bucharest. Alex was one of 64 people at the club killed by either the fire or negligence in the Romanian healthcare system. Continue reading...
Russian opposition figure has fever, cough and has lost weight, according to legal team member who visited himAlexei Navalny’s lawyer has said confirmed that the opposition leader is “seriously ill” after reports emerged that he had been transferred to a prison sick ward for a respiratory illness and had been tested for coronavirus.The Kremlin critic said in a note published on Monday that he was coughing and had a temperature of 38.1C (100.6F). Several prisoners from his ward had already been treated in hospital for tuberculosis, Navalny wrote. Hours later, the pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia reported he had been moved to a sick ward and tested for coronavirus, among other diseases. Continue reading...
A correspondent's live weather report was interrupted by a dog who snatched her microphone and ran off with it. Nadezhda Serezhkina, who works for the Russian-language broadcaster Mir TV, could then be seen running after the dog who still had the colourful microphone in its mouth. The dog, and the damaged microphone, later joined Serezhkina for the end of her live broadcast Continue reading...
by Luke Henriques-Gomes (now) and Matilda Boseley (ea on (#5G72S)
PM says Australia’s failure to reach vaccine target is due to three million doses that never arrived; Jacinda Ardern says quarantine-free travel between Australia and New Zealand will commence 19 April. This blog is now closed
With the Games just months away, the regime’s sports ministry says it wants to protect athletes from the ‘global health crisis’North Korea’s sports ministry said on Tuesday that it will not participate in the Tokyo Olympics this year to protect its athletes amid the coronavirus pandemic.The decision was made at a meeting of North Korea’s Olympic committee, including its sports minister Kim Il guk, on 25 March the ministry said on its website, called Joson Sports. “The committee decided not to join the 32nd Olympics Games to protect athletes from the global health crisis caused by the coronavirus,” it said. Continue reading...
Photographer Prashanth Vishwanathan captured a network of community dairies providing a lifeline to off-grid farmers in Maharashtra, helping to keep milk fresh as temperatures rise. All pictures are from Climate VisualsAs global temperatures climb, a lack of refrigeration makes a big impact on people trying to make a living from farming. Especially dairy farms.There are more than 75 million smallholder dairy farmers in India. Most are in off-grid areas without refrigeration, or reliant on expensive and polluting diesel generators. This locks people out of national supply chains, and farmers have to spend hours transporting milk to markets, or sell at a lower price to middlemen. In Maharashtra, western India, a network of community dairies has been set up, using sustainable refrigeration technology, where people can bring their milk to be tested, chilled, and sold on. Continue reading...
One of the world’s most celebrated bass players has worked with everyone from Adele to Elton John, the Who and D’Angelo. But the Welsh musician has hidden from the spotlight – until nowBy his own admission, Pino Palladino is not a man much accustomed to giving interviews. “Very reticent,” he nods during a Zoom call, his accent speaking noticeably louder of his childhood in Cardiff than his current home in LA. “You know, there was a time when I was featured in all sorts of musicians’ magazines, and then I just thought to myself, ‘Move over, there’s people out there that actually need the publicity.’ Not to blow smoke up my own arse,” he adds hurriedly, “but really I just didn’t want to see or hear from myself.”It’s a remark in keeping with the astonishing career of one of the most celebrated bass players in the world. It’s hard not to blanche when you consider the sheer number of records that have been sold featuring his work. He played on not one but two of the biggest selling albums of the 21st century: Adele’s 21 and Ed Sheeran’s Divide, as well as with Rod Stewart, Elton John, Bryan Ferry, Simon and Garfunkel and Keith Richards. They’re the biggest names in a startlingly diverse back catalogue of collaborations: Palladino’s playing is the thread that links Perfume Genius with Phil Collins, Harry Styles with Chris de Burgh, and Nine Inch Nails with De La Soul. Indeed, his versatility and omnipresence is a running joke within the music industry. When another fabled bass player, Pink Floyd’s Guy Pratt, got married, he opened his groom’s speech with the words: “I’m only here today because Pino couldn’t make it.” Continue reading...
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